Tower 1
by SoaringGryphonProductions
Summary: Molly Fischer is a harbor seal from the small seaside village of Harbortown with a dream of becoming a firefighter in Zootopia. Her dream came true when she graduated and was stationed at Zootopia Fire Station 14, Home of Tower 1 and Engine 3, the busiest fire station in all of Zootopia.
1. Chapter 1

**Zootopia: Tower 1**

 **Chapter 1: "Spots"**

There is a calmness in the sea, no past and no future. Life goes on as it has done for generations. In those generations, my family has made a living fishing it's bounty, and selling it at the markets. My name is Molly Fischer, and welcome to the village of Harbortown. I am thinking you know what I am. That's right, buddy, I'm a harbor seal.

I have two-tone grey fur and covered in beautiful spots and marbling all over my body except for the area around my cheeks and eyes, and around the middle of my chest and belly. I even have spots and marbling covering my butt. The thing is we seals have no tails. Our tails evolved into feet. That's why the tips of our toes are dark-bluish grey

Whenever I go to the farmer's market with my mother and father, I look around at the sounds of the city. It was when I was a little girl that I realized what I wanted to be. I heard the siren and the roar of the flames of a burning building. I watched as the ladders went up, and so did my hopes, "Dad, I wanna be a firefighter," I told my father.

"Honey, our family has been fishing the seas for generations, there's great work in the fishing business," said my dad, "heck our family name is Fischer,"

"Dad, I don't wanna be what people or my family want me to be, this is what I want to be, Dad, and nothing is going to stop me," I vowed to my mom and dad,

My dad laughed as I was just a kid, but now I've grown up. I kept my spots and marbling and I held onto my dream, "Welcome to the Zootopia Fire Academy, here the lives of the city are in your paws, it's your duty to go into danger when everybody else is running out," lectured the instructor, "well, well, long way from the sea, eh fish sticks?"

"Uh...I'm a mammal, not a fish, just like you," I said to the pine marten instructor

"Did I ask for your opinion, blubber-for-brains?!" She blasted at me, getting all up in my face,

"No, ma'am" I said, and she turned to face the others in the class. I am 5'6 and 1/2 and 142lbs, I am not exactly winning any height contests, but still I pushed onward amid a barrage of insults that I have unfortunately taken to memory along with my attempts at the obstacle course and equipment training: shark bait, fish and chips, bear snack.

I wouldn't give up. I will not give up, or give in. It took time, but I got passed the obstacle course, the smokehouse, and learned all the equipment. I graduated at the top of my class to become an official firefighter, "I swear she gets that inner drive from you," my dad told mom as photos were taken and refreshments were eaten after graduating

"Kyle, I have to agree, but there will always be that one member that strays away from the pack," said my mom Evelyn, "look you be safe out there, and be sure to share our family recipes with the fire station, they will love it," she said as she hugged me for a job well done, "the first firefighter in the Fischer Family, if you need anything, just call,"

I am glad my family is supporting me. Some families are so ingrained by tradition that something like this is like throwing mud on their names, "Thanks mom, thanks dad,"

Leaving my family was the biggest challenge I ever had to faced, now it was my turn to see the greatness that is Zootopia. I was assigned to Fire Station 14, home of Tower Company 1 and Engine Company 3. I was ready in my uniform, starched and pressed for me to present myself to the captain. This fire station happened to be short on staff.

I went in first thing in the morning. The garage doors were all open, and I could see the trucks. They were E-One Quests. One is a quint unit, that means it is a hybrid of a pumper and a ladder truck, with an 135ft ladder. The other was a custom pumper-tanker unit. I soon saw one of the firefighters, a leopard, shining the old brass sliding pole.

"You lookin' for the captain?" he asked, I nodded 'yes', "inside, it's the second door on the right," said the leopard, everyone at the station was going through stationary and equipment check while I was just a rookie coming in for the first day on the job. This is said to be one of the busiest stations in the entire city. This is a very big honor for me.

The badger in the office is Captain Charles Whitetail. He looked up at me, "It's 7:30, I told you to be here by 7:15, I expect those that work under me to be punctual,"

He turned his attention back to his paperwork, "Er, I'm sorry sir," I said holding my duffle bag in front of me. I tilted my head lightly in interest at the captain of the station. Captain Whitetail looked like he had seen a lot of action over the years. He looked like he had been in the fire service since before I was born. He looked at me, and groaned.

"You're the first of your kind to become a firefighter, I was hoping you would start your shift on a better note, but I'll let it slide, don't worry about it," said the Captain, and soon the firefighters came to the office to meet me, "I'm sorry if I came off on a bad note, I do that to the rookies all the time, Captain Whitetail, welcome to Fire Station 14,"

I received handshakes and greetings from the other firefighters. I maybe the only harbor seal in the fire service, but I am not the only lady. There were two others at the station, a black fox named Vicky and a Euro-Badger named Marlene. You'll never meet such a happy bunch of guys at a police station meeting. I think I'm going to like it here.


	2. Chapter 2

**Zootopia: Tower 1**

 **Chapter 2: Rescue Me (Fontella Bass)**

There are differences between being a cop and being a firefighter. One being as a rookie you're not given the short end of the stick when you start out in the service. Instead, you are thrown into the fire to prove yourself. That is what happened only two hours into settling down at the station. This is exactly what I am professionally trained to do.

The alarm sounded, and Marlene bolted off the couch and grabbed the message from the dispatcher on the fax machine. I pulled up my boots and pants, and ran to the engine while putting on my jacket. We firefighters work with a system to be ready for anything because when you call 911, and we're not ready the whole system falls apart.

"What've we got?" I asked, getting into the quint unit and sitting next to Marlene the Euro-Badger.

"Structure fire on 15th and Grove Street, ready to earn your stripes to go with your spots?" Marlene asked, she and Vicky were being good friends of mine at the station. Vicky Fox is the engineer of our quint unit. It's her job to drive the truck to the scene of a fire. I got a kick out of the joke they pulled yesterday. I was ready to do my duty.

There is no feeling like this. There is a certain kind of rush that comes knowing that you're going into a burning building to put out a fire. You're dancing with the demon. We rushed out of the station with sirens sounding, and the air horns blasting to tell everyone to get out of the way. I could feel the all the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

We arrived at the scene, and a fire was raging out of control on the seventh floor. I prepared my breathing apparatus, and put on my hood and helmet. The residents were a family of raccoons, but there was a problem, a big problem, "MY SON! MY SON IS STILL IN THERE! PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP!" the mother screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Don't worry, ma'am, we'll find your son, Fischer you're up!" He ordered to me, as the hoses were connected to the hydrants,

"I'm on it, sir!" I said running to get the hose from one of the trucks.

I was getting the hose from the quint unit while Vicky was preparing the outriggers. We have compartments for medical supplies between the two windows on each side of the cabs in our quint and tanker trucks. The police and paramedics were arriving on the scene as Captain Whitetail and I were climbing up the stairs to the seventh floor.

Vicky was at the controls of the ladder while Firefighter Bainbridge the Leopard was going up in it with the nozzle to put the wet stuff on the red stuff, "Let's go, Fischer, I've got your back!" said Captain Whitetail helping me carry the hose while carrying an axe to break down the door. The captain broke through the lock, and the door burst open.

"GO-GO-GO!" yelled Captain Whitetail over the roaring flames as we entered the burning apartment. A wall of heat soon hit me head on.

The fire roared like a beast conjured up from a nightmare, "Fire department, anybody here!" I called out, I heard sniffling and crying coming from the corner of the bathroom. I took the captain's axe, and broke down the window, "alright, I need you to be brave for me, there's a nice man in the ladder coming to rescue you," I said to the boy.

He nodded as I picked him up, and Kyle was there with the ladder to come and get him, "Gotcha little guy, don't worry you're safe now," said Kyle as he was coming down the ladder to give the son back to his mother. The hose was charged, and the Captain and I started to fight back the blaze, hitting the flames high just like I was taught in school.

This fire was running around, going from one side of the apartment to the other, and we were running the risk of the ceiling falling on me and Captain Whitetail. We were lucky to get the boy out in time. We had only seconds to find the boy, and get him out. On top of that, we have only fifteen minutes left of air in our breathing apparatuses.

We were racing against the clock, but for the first time in my life I felt like a hero, "Good work, rookie, I think you got what it takes," said the Captain,

When the fire was out, we came down the stairs to the cheers of the other firefighters. Now we needed to find out how the fire was started, "Looks like a baking accident," I said expecting the oven, and finding a loaf of bread or at least what looks like a loaf of bread. The apartment colored white, and dripping with foamy water from the fire hose.

"Good work today, Firefighter Fischer, there's a saying we have in the fire service, it doesn't matter whose wearing the uniform, but the actions of the person wearing the uniform, you dig?" said the Captain being the wise old hand that he is. The police were soon on the scene, "sorry guys, no arson here, just a baking SNAFU," he said to them.

"Hey, you're the new firefighter at Station 14, you're the first seal I've ever met, but I guess there's a first time for everything, Judy Hopps," said the rabbit cop,

"Molly Fischer," I replied with a smile shaking her hand. What a sweetheart she is. This was my first day on the job, and my first fire. I could believe it, actually. You never know when the emergency alarm will sound. You call 911, and you call for help then you know that we will be there. The motto of the firefighter is very simple: 'be prepared'.

 **Tower Company 1 and Engine Company 3**

 **Captain Charles Whitetail (European Badger)**

 **Engineer Victoria 'Vicky' Fox (Black Fox)**

 **Engineer Wilson Cade (Mountain Lion)**

 **Firefighter Kyle Bainbridge (Leopard)**

 **Firefighter Marlene Fourcade (European Badger)**

 **Firefighter Molly Fischer (Common Harbor Seal)**

 **Firefighter Delvin Williams (Melanistic Jaguar/Black Panther)**

 **Firefighter Collin Hollingsworth (Wolverine)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Zootopia: Tower 1**

 **Chapter 3: On the Job (Part 1)**

As firefighters, when we are not fighting fire we have to look out for the station, the equipment, and each other. After stationary inspections and cleaning the equipment and washing the trucks this morning, we took out the fire trucks to go to the local supermarket near our station. Our fire station is the oldest station in Zootopia built in 1870.

Our fire station is nicknamed 'The Castle' by the other fire companies in the city because it has the old watchtower that was used for spotting fires over one hundred years ago. Today, our station is designated a Historic City Landmark. Vicky struck up some conversation with me, "You know, I notice you have spots in your dark grey parts too,"

I giggled, "Cool, huh? Well, the boys will get to see most of them if Captain Whitetail goes along with his plan to take us to the beach," I replied, this is a real good group of guys and girls. We go into action when we get the call no matter where we are. This is our second try at going shopping for the station. This fire station has it's needs too.

"I swear I have more spots on me than Zootopia has people," I said to myself,

"I believe it," said Delvin a loaf of potato bread into cart like a basketball and made it, "Oh yeah! three points from downtown,"

Our first try was interrupted by a car engine catching on fire on the main highway. That day was the first time I got to use the Jaws of Life outside the classroom. It is one of my favorite tools. The other is the Halligan Tool. Mix together an adze, a pick, and a pry bar with 30 inches of steel and you have a tool that can bust through anything.

"Heard you're making dinner tonight, rookie" said Wilson putting in a jar of crunchy and a jar of smooth peanut butter in the cart. Every does their job around the station, and it seems everyone has their favorite items at the market. I nodded to the puma to tell him he was right. I was going to make my mom's famous Harbortown Chowder.

"Yep, and you guys are in for a treat," I promised them, we were getting radio messages from the other companies handling different calls from around the city. I had a feeling this was one of those rookie initiations into the company. You're first on the job with the trucks, and now I have to cook for the companies. No problem. I love to cook.

"Probably be better than Marlene's, we all went to a fire afterward with food poisoning," Vicky said to me,

Marlene elbowed Vicky in the side, "Hey, my cooking isn't THAT bad, it's not my problem you guys can't handle my fish tacos," protested Marlene.

I am amazed by the dedication of the companies, "It wasn't the best day in Zootopia, but we can't let anything hold us back or bring us down," said Kyle the Leopard, "in this line of work, you gotta work through pain," Kyle put in a king-size bag of tortilla chips, and a bag of cheddar popcorn. Marlene got us some frozen sweet corn for vegetables.

"And peas for good measure" I said putting in a bag of frozen peas to the dislike of some of the guys in the form of a few groans, "c'mon guys, I'm not your mother but we have to have vegetables in the kitchen, all part of a balanced diet, something we should've learned in health class," I reminded them, and got in line to pay for our groceries.

As we got in line, a call came in on our two-way radios of a fire at a railway depot just outside of downtown at the city port. We left from the store, and buttoned up our jackets and readied our breathing apparatus as we were rushed to the scene. The challenge for me was keeping up with the others. Only two days in, and we have a big fire.

"What've we got?" asked Captain Whitetail to the Battalion Chief of Zootopia, a lioness named Jennifer 'Jen' Clawfield,

"Train fire, the conductor is over there being questioned by the police, those tank cars are filled with gasoline that can go off at any time," she warned us.

"You heard the chief, Fischer get on the nozzle, Cade, Fox connect the rigs to the nearest hydrant and get the stabilizers ready and get that ladder in the air, Fourcade get in the basket, Bainbridge...Hollingsworth, Williams, you guys are on hose, let's go, c'mon let's go!" Captain Whitetail ordered to us, and we scrambled to our places at the site.

I was up on the deck of the pumper-tanker as Vicky and Wilson connected her and the quint unit to the hydrant. Once the hose was connected, Vicky checked the gauges on the rigs, and signaled to Wilson to charge the line. I pulled back the lever, and the water burst out in a wide stream which I adjusted so we can fight back the monstrous fire.

The big ladder went up into the air as soon as the outriggers were down. The sounds of flowing water, and the roar of the flames were defining as black smoke filled the sky. The locomotive was ablaze, and we had to make a water wall to stop the flames from jumping and stopping the heat from heating up those tanker cars filled with gasoline.

Everything seemed to be under control until, "Hit the deck!" called out Kyle at the hose with Delvin,

"Watch out!" warned Collin the Wolverine as the tankers exploded in a ball of fire. The heat caused the other five to explode one by one. Each one sounded, and looked like a bomb going off. I ducked my head as pieces of flaming metal were raining down from the sky, and flying in all directions. I cried out in pain as one slashed my upper thigh.

"Molly!" called out Delvin, "you okay?" he asked, I nodded to him even though I had a wound on my upper thigh. I cringed in pain at the slightest movement, but kept up the fight against the fire. It took nearly four hours to contain the blaze. I cringed in pain coming down from the pumper, "easy, Fischer, easy...easy...I need a medic over here!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Zootopia: Tower 1**

 **Chapter 4: On the Job (Part 2)**

In many jobs there are some parts that are very dangerous. I found that out the hard way as I was in the hospital with a laceration in my left thigh from the piece of metal that hit me. Captain Whitetail came by to see me along with members of the engine and ladder company at my bedside. They truly are my family away from my own family.

"Good to see you, Fischer, the nurse says a few more weeks in rehab and you will be good to suit up again," said Captain Whitetail, "until then, heal up and rest up, Fischer, that's an order," one thing that amazes me is the medical technology. What used to take months for something like a broken bone to heel now can take only days or weeks.

The next one to visit was Judy. You have to love that little bunny cop, "Hey, I came to see how you're doing...you know, firefighters and cops we work together, except during the annual basketball games," Judy said as a small side note, I lightly chuckled, "listen, I've been looking into the fires that have been happening over the passed few weeks,"

"You don't think...," I asked coming to a conclusion in my mind, but it seemed that Judy and I were both on the same page. Judy nodded lightly as she came to her conclusion

"I believe so, we have an arsonist on our hands," said Judy and showed me photos taken from the scene from the apartment fire. No one was hurt in the fire, but there was something else, "Nick and I have been on the case since the fire two weeks ago, I'm starting to see a pattern, every one of these fires was in the home of a predator species,"

"Strange, if that is the case then my question to you Judy is how does the railway fire fit into this?" I asked her, "all manners of species work there, not just predator species," I pointed out, "I don't think it's back to the drawing board just yet, Judy, I think you need to look further into this...if your chief lets you," I said to her to keep her spirits up.

"Miss Fischer, it's time for your treatment," said an otter nurse, I got on my crutches and I was escorted to the laser treatment room, I asked Judy to keep us posted on the progress of her assignment. The bandages were removed from my wound, and the laser went to work. For one hour each day, the laser healed my wound. It was just awful.

The pain is like a thousand needles digging into my skin, but I have to do it if I'm going to get back on the truck again, "You see? It's not so bad," said the nurse with a smile

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one being operated on," I groaned, after lunch I thought about Judy's investigation. Thoughts were going through my head. If this was an arsonist, then this guy has to be a seasoned professional. How was this guy able to plant an incendiary device into a family's apartment without their home alarm going off?

With two weeks of that blasted laser treatment, I was out of the hospital and received a warm welcome back to the station. It felt good to be back, and getting hugs from all the brothers and sisters we have at the station. The next day after getting back to work, I finished my chores of washing and polishing the trucks and cleaning up the kitchen.

Dressed in my navy blues and my black polished steel-toed boots, I took the one and half mile walk to the police station. I opened the doors to be greeted by the cool breeze of the AC running, and the smell of fresh doughnuts. There I met the biggest cheetah I ever seen, "Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my gosh...you must be Molly," he beamed.

"I am...is umm...," I asked, before getting interrupted but I let it slide due to his overwhelming enthusiasm. There was more cereal at his desk than most market cereal aisles.

"Are you here to see JUDY?! Oh! Oh! Oh! She's in her office, fifth door on the left, you can't miss it," He pointed to me after giving me an icing-covered handshake. I walked down the hall after a quick wash of the hands. I looked through the window, and saw Judy beam as I walked in. Nick happened to be in the office as well. Time to go to work.

"Well, well, You're the first harbor seal I've ever met," said a fox and I shook his hand making his acquaintance, "all kidding aside, it's good to meet you, Molly, I'm Nick Wilde, Judy's partner," he pulled out a file from a nearby cabinet, "now concerning the fire at the rail terminal, we didn't find any incendiary devices at the scene, very, very strange,"

"Whoever is behind this knows what they're doing," I stated, "this arsonist must know how fires can easily be started on accident in the household, on top of that, I'm thinking our culprit must have some sort of affiliation with the victims that can allow them access to the house," Nick scratched his chin at the thought, and Judy nodded in agreement.

"I maybe a former crook, but I think you're on to something, spotsy," said Nick, "whoever is behind this must have something against predators, still why the city railyard?"

"Honestly, if you wanted someone to talk to about these happenings you could've called on Captain Whitetail, but it is what it is," I said looking out at the office window for a moment and turning back to Judy and Nick, "it's best not to leave out any possibilities, I suggest talking to the Raccoon Family at 15th and Grove Street, might help you out,"

"I've gotta get back to the station, I got lunch duty today, keep us posted," I said, and made my leave of the station. I don't know when the next fire will come, but I know that arsonist is out their somewhere planning his next attack. This got me puzzled. Then it hit me like a kick in the head. What if the railroad fire was meant to throw us off?


	5. Chapter 5

**Zootopia: Tower 1**

 **Chapter 5: Back in Action ('Fire' by the Ohio Players)**

A week has passed since I got out of the hospital. The cut on my leg is gone, but now I know I have to be careful on the job. I got my chance to get back into the swing of things when the alarm went off right as I was making my bed this morning. I pulled up my boots, and pants and slid down the pole to get my jacket, "What've we got?!"

"Structure fire on 5th and Main in the Old Town!" said Wilson as I got on my helmet, and got in the cab of the quint unit. With sirens blaring and horns blasting, it feel like home again to be in the rig going to a fire instead of hearing the sounds from a hospital bed. As we got to the scene, it appeared one of the Victorian-Era houses caught fire.

Captain Whitetail gave us our assignments, "Good to have you back, Fischer, I need you up in the ladder to get some ventilation on the roof, Marlene I need you with Fischer to run the nozzle, Fox I need you at the aerial controls, Bainbridge, Cade, Williams, Hollingsworth, you guys are on the hose, I'll be on the deck gun, let's go come on let's go!"

I opened a compartment on the quint unit to get the chainsaw, and the breathing apparatus. The flames roared, and the smoke billowed into the sky. It was a like a monster, or something out of, well, you know where. I was up in the ladder, and brought up the roof of the two-story house. It is my job to prevent any backdraft from hitting the guys.

Once on the roof, I got to work putting holes in the roof to let the air in. You have to watch out because some of the areas can very weak, and you can fall through the roof. It is a horrifying thought. I signaled to the captain to be let down from the roof. The ladder came over thanks to Vicky, and I was off the roof, "Alright, let's run her!" said Vicky,

With a signal from the captain, the hoses and nozzles started the fight back. The family of Kangaroos living in the house seemed to have gotten out in time, that was all but one, "MY BABY! MY LITTLE GIRL'S STILL TRAPPED IN THERE! SOMEBODY HELP!" the mother yelled at the top of her lungs. Suddenly, I saw something up on the 2nd floor.

"I got eyes on the joey, captain!" I said to him amid the roaring and crackling of flames, and the humming of the engines.

"Fischer, Williams, get a ladder on the second floor, move it!" yelled Captain Whitetail at the helm of the pumper-tanker's deck gun. We pulled a ladder out of the back of the quint unit, and got to work. I could see the little girl waving her hands and calling out to her mother. Williams was on the ground holding the ladder steady, while I went up.

I started the climb, and I got the child in my arms, "Now don't you worry, you'll be with your mother soon," I said to calm her down as I scaled down the ladder, suddenly I heard a creaking and part of the structure that the ladder was resting on gave way. The little girl screamed, but I held her tight, "don't worry, I gotcha, I gotcha," said to her

Pieces of the building fell on the ground below, but still I held on. When I got down the ladder, the little girl was reunited with her mother. One of the best parts of the job is seeing moments like these unfold, "MOVE BACK! MOVE BACK! IT'S COMING DOWN!" warned the captain, and the roof of the old house caved in, but still we fought the fire.

It took several hours to get the blaze under control. The old Victorian-Era house was now a shell of it's former self. I find it sad that a piece of the history of Zootopia has gone up in smoke. The police arrived to do their work, "And this people is why you shouldn't smoke," said Nick wearing gloves, and carrying pair of tweezers and an evidence bag.

"Hmm...I find it odd that with the recent events surrounding the fires, that our arsonist chose this house because the family is of a non-predator species," said Judy, "it's hard to not rule out an accident though," something told me that this is what the perpetrator wants us to think. Whoever is behind these attacks really knows what they are doing.

"I think you're on to something, Carrots, but something tells me this is no accident," said Nick, the cigar was very badly burnt so that ruled out looking into the brand this guy might have been smoking, "we should look into the traffic cameras, and see if we can replay the events leading up to the fire," Nick suggested, and he has a very valid point.

"Alright then, keep us posted if you find anything," I said, and made my leave with the others back to the station, Delvin was making his chili cornbread casserole.

Our companies have the oldest station in the city, and let me tell you this station is haunted. We have had several incidents where our coats, and helmets have been moved. In the past, it used to be that a fire would often claim the life of at least one firefighter. With new technology though, we are still putting our lives on the line to save others.

This station has seen all manner of firefighters in the past from the old piston-pumping engines and horse-drawn steamers to the first fire trucks. This station is a designated historical landmark. I wonder if I should invite Judy and Nick over for a sleepover? I might be too old for that, but on the other hand you're never too old to meet a few ghosts


End file.
